Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Involvement in Closing of Home Sales

[Lynn Nadeau / Maraiah (welcome]

Part of the situation around resales is your legal structure. RoseWind 
Cohousing, more than 25 years in, in Port Townsend WA, is neither a co-op nor a 
condo. As a mutual benefit nonprofit corporation with a homeowners' 
association, ours is open market real estate. We work hard to welcome and 
educate those who express an interest in joining. We really value getting 
well-matched participatory new members. When a seller allows us to market their 
resale home, we do outreach to interested parties and do a lot to orient 
prospective members. 

However, a resale may be handled by an estate, or the seller may need a quick 
turnover to accomodate a sudden move for work or family urgency, or may be 
leaving because they found they didn't enjoy community living. In such cases, a 
realtor -- who may be clueless and just want to sell to anyone-- may be engaged 
and sell to someone who is not well-informed or motivated regarding the  
community aspect. The CC&Rs are attached to the deed, but that doesn't 
guarantee a fit. 

Fortunately, we've usually been able to be in communication with buyers. When 
dealing with realtors who aren't talking with us, I do my best to physically 
intercept them when they are showing the house. A warm greeting is followed by 
handing the realtor and the prospect, each, a handout about our community and 
how to learn more. This is a way to get useful information across in a couple 
of minutes.

So far, we have been diligent, and lucky, enough to maintain a critical mass of 
participating households, and have had relatively few resales. But in a small 
town, with a limited pool of buyers at any given time, one can have "robust" 
marketing and outreach and still be vulnerable. And yes, after buying is "late" 
but one can still do outreach and orientation to help integrate new members, 
even the uninformed. 

Maraiah Lynn Nadeau
www.rosewind.org